Bottle stopper for the storing of sterile liquids



Feb. 27, 1940. N, M NESSET f' 2,191,495 A' BOTTLE STOPPER FOR THE STORING OF STEHILE LIOUIDS Filed March l0, 1938 Patente Feb. 27, E i i A UNITED STATES PATENT 'Tori-ICE `oTT1.E-s'roPrE1t Fon 'run sTo-mNG oF STERILE LlQUrns Naurice M. Nesset, Glenview,` Ill'., assigner to Baxter laboratories, Inc., Glenview, Ill.; a corporation of Delaware Application Maren 1o, 193s, `serial No. 195,193 y4, claims. (o1. 215-41) i My invention relates to means and methods about the lower bead II and ashort distance'over of storing sterile liquids, such as, for example, the resilient sealing member C. Ametal, disk I1 parenteral solutions. V is placed over the inner ring I6 and the member An object of the invention is to provide a con- C and is conned in position by an outersmetal 5 tainer closure whereby the sterile solutions may cap I8 which extends about the lower* beadil I. 5 be maintained sterile for long periods of'y time The outer cap is provided with a pull tabY I9 and preferably from which such solutions may which may be drawn to sever the outercap and 5, be administered. A further object is to provide permit access lto the metal disk I1 and ilexible a means and method whereby sterile solutions Seal C. Y Y

l may be maintainediover'longperiods of time uli-'- l I make no claim to the foregoing Slrueture 10 der partial vacuum without being visibly contamexcept as modified in accordance with the folinated from the closure. A further object is to lowing means and StepS- provide a container witha closure which effec- In lthe use of a rubber closure in connection l tively seals the same whileat the same tiine being With a Container as above described, and partielreadily removed therefrom to permit cleaning the ulerly Where partial vacuum is employed, it is l container for subsequent reuse. A still further lfound that particles separate from .the closure object is to provide a, closure for use with a con.. and enter the solution and are ascertainable yby tainer for sterile solutions, the closureV being re- Visual inspection and may be further identified silient, adherent and resistant to the .action` of by chemical means- Solutions containing such chemicals While at the same time having a mini- Small Darliieles and Shipped in Such Containers 20. mum rubber odcrvor taste. Other specific objects Y have been 0n the market for many years and no and advantages will appearas ythe speeincation means has as yet been devised for eliminating the proceeds. v Y foreign matter while at the same time maintain- The invention is illustrated, in a preferred eining e Satisfactory Closure Furthermore, the rub'- bodiment, by the accompanying drawing-lin ber odor and taste, while undoubtedly innocuous, 25

' which; f is objectionable from an estheticpoint of view Figure 1 is a perspective view of a Container and the removal thereof has been long desired. and closuretherefor embodying my invention; Fur'thermle, in the reuse Of the eOrltail'ler, dif- Fig. 2, a greatly magnified sectional view of a poreuity has been experienced in removing the .rub-

tion of the rubber closure showing the skink br Closure which has to be seated tightly within 30 formed thereon; and Fig. 3, a sectional view cfa t e bOiiiJle Ck t0 make e per-feet Seal, end e modified form of the invention. Y `closure having the capacity of forming a' tight In the illustration given in Figs. 1 and 2, the seal while at the same time being' removable reference character A designates a container from ther Container With little effOrl iS Very deequipped with an open neck I0; and B designates Sirable. I j

a resilient closure therefor; l `I have discovered that a closure may be formed- The container A may be of Vany suitable confor such a container which will have the properstruction. In theillustration given, it consists f ties ebOVe described 3S desirable While at the ,i

of a glass bottle having an open neck, the neck Seme time having nene Of the diSdVailtageS 40 being provided with beads II. mentioned. I findl that a closure plug having a 40 The closure member B may also be of any suitthin skin on the outside thereof can be employed able.y construction and material. In the illustrawith the container so as to form a tight sealv tion given, the plug B is formed of rubber and therewith whileat the same time being readily is provided at its top with an annular flange I2, removable when it is desired to clean the contain- The plug is provided with openings I3 and I4, er for reuse. lAt the same time, I nd that the 45 the opening I4 being suitable for the attachment skin on the plug renders ite/resistant to the soluof an outlet tube for the draining of the contents tions and prevents the formation o/,fffparticles in of the bottle When the same isinverte'd. The pasthe solutions while at the same timegreatly re- I sage I3 is adapted to receive a tube yI5 which ducing the rubber odor and taste; In the illus-f" extends almost to the opposite end of thebottle. tration given in Fig. 2, the body of the plug B 50 Over the closure B there is aexible seal C, is indicated by'the numeral 2l) and the thin skin Any suitable cap for enclosing the members B and formed is indicated by the numeral 2 I.

C and maintaining them insealing position may ,Y The protective skin having the' characteristics beV employed. In the illustration given, I provide above described may be formed in any suitable an inner metal cap member I6 which extends way. The skin is formed preferably by modify- 55 means lso as to produce a skin of greater vspeciilc gravity than the inner portion of the plug while at the same time increasing the molecular weight of the isoprene nucleus and its polymers. The skin is also much smoother and presents a practically unbroken and even surface. 'I'hls smooth surface permits the plug to be readily drawn out of the neckof the bottle While at the' same time its smooth `contour forms a uniform seal when pressed in to position. 'I'his also facilitates the insertion of the plug into position.

A skin having the above ycharacteristics may be formed on the plug itself by treatment of the plug with chemicals or it may be formed as a thin membrane or coating and then drawn or otherwise applied to the exterior of the plug. 'I'he coating may also be formed by dissolving modified rubber or rubber-like substances and spraying or brushing or otherwise applying the solution to the plug and then allowing the solvent to evaporate. It will be observedthat the new structure formed consists of an inner core portion 20 which is relatively porous and an outer skin portion 2lA which is relatively nonporous. In the modification of the rubber to form the skin or modied surface, I believe that the treatment results in polymers of isoprene or polymers of modified isoprene of greater molecular weight and consisting of more units than previously existed in the unmodified structure.

' 'Ihls would seem to be substantiated by the fact that it offers resistance to the passage of rubber odor and taste from within the plug to the surface and is therefore obviously less pervious to the passage of substances from the inner portion of the stopper to the extreme surface as well as the passage of water into the plug. While the untreated portion of the plug is often found to,

take up water with a resultant swelling thereof, I find that the treated skin portion absorbs no water whatever and does not increase in size. While I have illustrated the plug B as being formed of an inner rubber body provided with an integral skin surface, it is also true that the inner body may be formed of other materials, such as, porcelain, glass, etc., and the same may be covered by the skin or modified rubber surface described. In the preparation of such a plug, the treated rubber is preferably dissolved and applied upon the body, being dried thereon by the evaporation of the solvent. In the illustration given in Fig. 3, the reference numeral 22 designates an inner body member formed of glass, and the reference numeral 23 designates a rubber skin of the character described enclosing the-body, the skin being preferably thicker than heretofore described to provide the desired re-ll sillence. The surface of the glass is preferably rough so as to grip the rubber skin 23.

In the forming of the skin, it will vbe obvious to those skilled in the art that various methods may be employed. For example, the plug itself may be treated with any of the halogens for a period of time so as to form the halogenated rubber crust or skin. Any suitable means for applying chlorine, fluorine, bromine or iodine may be used, it being important, however, that the quantities used be limited to prevent a possible toxic effect, particularly with iluorine,.bromine and iodine. Of the foregoing, I have found 'chlorine most satisfactory. Also, the skin may be formed, as is well known to those skilled in the art, by the addition of sulphur or compounds' of sulphur withv n i 2,191,465 ing the outer surface of the rubber by chemical p the halogens. For example, the sulphur may be added by vulcanizing the outer surface of the plug or by treatment with a solvent containing sulphur or compounds of sulphur with the halogens. 'I'he use of sulphur in compounds with one of the halogens may result in the addition of said compounds to the isoprene `nucleus or polymers thereof.

Asa specific example of the process or means,

I may set forth the following: 'I'he formulated plug is immersed in water saturated with chlorine at above or below room temperature for a period of four minutes. After the above period of immersion, the action of the chlorine-saturated water upon said plug is stopped by a suitable means, namely by rinsing in water or by immersing for a period of four minutes in a solution of sodium thiosulphate, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, or any other alkaline solution, or in a solution of sodium nitrite or the nitrite radical compounded with any other suitable radical or metal. If the action of thechlorine is stopped by means other than water, it is necessary to wash the stopper after treatment With any of said antichlors so as to prevent them from coming in contact with the sterile solutions thereby avoiding any toxic effect which might come from such use.

In the forming of the closure described, I treat the resilient seal C in exactly vthe same manner as above described. However, by reason of the thinness of the seal, the satisfactory treatment with the chlorine-saturated water can be accomplished in about a minute. The thin seal C after treatment has the above described beneficial characteristics mentionedV with respect to the plug. The skin formed thereon lies against the smooth top surface of the plug forming a tight sealtherewith while at' the same time being readily removable when it is desired to open the container.

Likewise, the treated seal aids in preventing the formation of foreign bodies in the solution. By having a plug provided with a smooth skin and a seal also provided with a similar skin, a very satisfactory and eflicient closure is provided for the container. If desired, the entire plug or seal or the rubber portion thereof may be fabricated from chlorinated rubber or halogenated rubber, or of rubber to which has been added compounds f sulphur with the halogens.

While in the foregoing description, I have set forth specific means and methods for producing the desired skin or modified surface upon the plug and exible seal, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many equivalent methods may be employed, and such equivalent methods may obviously be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

-The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodi therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In combination with a container having an open neck, a closure plug engaging said neck and having at least one passage through the plug, and a resilient seal above said plug, said plug and seal being formed of rubber, the outer surfaceportion of which is halogenated to provide a smooth rubber skin.

2. In combination with a container having an open neck, closure means therefor, said closure means including a rubber plug member engaging l10 opening therein, a

alencon said rubber plug having at least the lower portion thereof chlorinated to increase the molecular weight of the isoprene and its polymer constituents, the interior of the plug being substantially unmodied by contact with chlorine.

i 4. A stopper for a container, comprising a rubberbody having a. non-halogenated interior core portion and an outer halogenated skin portion integral with said core portion.

NAURICE M. NEssET. 

